


Time Flies

by Ebhenah



Series: Klancemas 2018 [8]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Canon Divergent, Christmas, College-aged Kid, Domestic klance, F/M, Found Family, Klance Future Family, M/M, Married Klance, klance dads, klancemas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2018-12-16
Packaged: 2019-09-19 21:47:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17009808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ebhenah/pseuds/Ebhenah
Summary: College-aged Thace visit with his fathers and talks Christmas schedules.Written for the Klancemas event by MonthlyKlance on tumblrKlancemas 2018“Time Flies"Dec 15: Traditions(A future Klance-Family Fic)





	Time Flies

“What do you mean you won’t be there?” Lance couldn’t possibly have heard that correctly. He set the sheet of whipped shortbreads on the rack to cool and slid the three pans of gingerbread cake into the oven. With a family the size of his Christmas baking started early and was a big part of almost everyday in December. “it’s Noche Buena! The whole family will be there!”

“I know, Papi,” Thace sighed, “and I love Noche Buena- but we were there last year and so THIS year we are going to Midnight Mass with Juanita’s family. It’s not fair for me to expect her to miss this, or to ask her to be okay with me spending EVERY Christmas Eve with the family in Cuba while she spends it with her family in Mexico. We can’t make everyone happy every time, Papi and I know you know that.”

He sighed and rubbed at his face, “I know that, I do. It’s just that… never mind. I don’t want to make you feel guilty for making a decision, or argue with you. You can’t be in two places at once, and Juanita’s family is every bit as important to you guys as we are. I know that. We’ll miss you, but I will make sure everyone understands.”

“Even Abuela?”

“Well, I will make a valiant effort to make her understand why her grandson is in Mexico on Christmas Eve… I can’t promise that you won’t get an earful from her though.”

“Thanks Papi,” Thace rolled his shoulders, eliciting a few cracks and pops, “you’ll still see a lot of us over the holidays. Nita’s family doesn’t have nearly as many traditions as we do.”

“We don’t have THAT many traditions, Thace!”

“You’re kidding, right? We have more traditions than anyone else I know! Our Christmas is practically a script!”

“You’re exaggerating!”

“I am not! The first Saturday in December, there’s tree shopping with Allura and Coran, because they insist that even after all this time they need help picking an ‘appropriate seasonal tree’. We always go to the same tree farm, then we always drink mulled cider and have a sleigh ride. The day after THAT we help Shiro decorate his quarters and trim his tree and we always have that GROSS ‘thanksgiving dinner pizza’ from that one place he loves by the Garrison, and we all wear dumb elf-hats and we take a picture in front of the tree when it is done.”

“Helping friends with decorating isn’t exactly a huge number of traditions, Thace.”

“I’m not done!” he laughed, “the Holts have their ugly sweater holiday party the second weekend of December, so in between tree trimming at Shiro’s and the party we bake cookies with Krolia, Romelle, Shay, and Hunk and all the Pala-brats.”

“I really wish you guys would stop using that dumb nickname,” Lance sighed, “NONE of you are brats!”

“We have the big McClain charity shopping trip, complete with caramel apples that Marco ALWAYS has to point out aren’t anywhere near as good as you used to get from the little candy shop by your house when you were kids.” Thace had started counting things out on his fingers, “and we do the official Paladins of Voltron End of Year Video message broadcast, which is always followed by Christmas Carol Karaoke at Student Union Building at the Garrison. We put up our OWN tree and decorate the quarters, and go to the school Holiday concert. All that, and we are just barely touching the second weekend of December, Papi!”

“We are blessed to have so many friends and family Thace- that’s what the holidays are all about!”

“I know! I’m just saying it is BUSY, and this will be our third Christmas together and so far, Nita has taken part in pretty much every tradition our family has. She’d done gift-wrapping night, the snowball war, sang carols, made gingerbread houses and ornaments, decorated TOO MANY trees- all of it. She’s never complained, not once. But, we are living together now, and her family is important, too… plus- we kind of want to come up with a couple of traditions of our own.”

“Like your Dad and I did when we made a point of going to Arus in the Lions to pick those funky little berries that look like snowflakes and taste like salted caramel and going ice skating at the outdoor rink he proposed at every year. I get it.” He sighed, “I can’t believe you are so grown-up that you are living with your girlfriend and are trying to make COUPLE traditions. Time flies. It feels like you were fighting with your sister and brothers over what to watch on tv just last week. Where’d my chiquito go?”

Thace laughed and hugged him, “I’m right here, Papi. I’m not going anywhere. I’m around all the time- I’m pretty sure I WAS fighting with Talia and Lucas over what to watch on tv when I was here last week putting up the tree… and ONLY you would complain about me moving out when you still have FOUR kids at home.”

“You’re supposed to still be ten- you know that, right?” Lance teased.

“Ten? Ugh- Papi, ten was not my best year! That’s when I was OBSESSED with that stupid show about the sarcastic hamsters that fought demons.”

“Quiznak, that AWFUL show! Ham-Ham and the Holy Knights! Okay, not ten. Ten was bad. Maybe… nine? Oh, yeah, nine was a good year! That was when you were going through that super huggy phase. I liked nine.”

“Yeah, but *I* like nine-TEEN,” he countered. “I have my own place, an awesome girlfriend, who lives with me, school’s going well, and I can drink in Canada.”

“Smells delicious in here!” Keith laughed as he entered the room, ruffling Thace’s hair affectionately, “I don’t understand why being able to drink in CANADA, of all places matters so much to you.”

“Nita and I have friends in Canada,” he answered easily, “how was work?”

Keith shrugged one shoulder, and leaned into Lance, his arm wrapping around his waist easily, “work was work. Nothing exciting happened- which is pretty much the goal. How are exams?”

“Not bad- but I have mostly papers this time around. Next semester’s courses are the ones with all the exams.”

“Thace was just dropping by to let us know we won’t see him on Christmas Eve this year,” Lance said to Keith.

“Headed to Mexico this year, huh?” he guessed. “We should send gifts along for Juanita’s family, babe. I know how much it meant to Mom when your family all had gifts for her.”

“Well, we already have gifts for her siblings and her parents,” Lance said mildly, “Thace? Can you get us a list of everyone who will be there for Christmas Eve? I don’t want to accidentally leave anyone out.”

“Can do, Papi. Maybe some jars of the Lance McClain Secret Recipe All Natural Face Mask? Juanita keeps using mine up on me.”

“She does?” Lance’s face lit up, “I can do that! I was planning on whipping up a new batch soon anyway!”

Keith chuckled, “you and your face masks. Thace, did you know he used to SLEEP in them?”

“And my skin was PERFECTION, thankyouverymuch!”

“Why’d you stop?”

Lance playfully glared at Keith, who laughed. “Because he’s cuddly and I didn’t want that goop smeared all over me and the bedding.”

“He was too badass for face masks,” teased Lance.

“Are you finally admitting that I was more badass than you?”

“You’re joking, right? I’m a SNIPER! Snipers are the ultimate badasses, Mullet.”

“Okay, okay,” laughed Thace, holding his hands up, “enough with the flirting, you weirdos. I should probably get going… I’m in charge of dinner tonight. Nita’s got a last minute study group.”

“You good for cash?” Keith asked, digging out his wallet.

“Well, I’m not going to turn down money if you are offering,” he laughed, “but I’m not tapped out or anything.”

“Here,” he pulled out a few bills, “babe? You got any cash on you? I’ve only got 60- that won’t go far.”

“Yeah, I’ve got about the same,” he dug out his own wallet and added his bills to Keith’s. “Buy vegetables. Don’t spend it all on booze and burgers.”

“I wasn’t going to spend it ALL on booze and burgers,” Thace promised, “just like… half of it- JOKING! I’m just joking. I swear! I think I’m going through another growth spurt, we can barely keep food in the apartment lately. Shouldn’t I be done with those?”

Keith made a noise and headed to the cupboards, opening and closing doors.

“Oh, now you’ve done it,” Lance faux-whispered to his son, “you aren’t getting out of here without half our pantry stock. Keith? Babe? Please remember that of our FIVE growing children FOUR of them still live in this place with us. You can’t give Thace all our food…”

“Some Galra can have growth spurts for like fifty years,” Keith explained, “not that you have much Galra blood… but even your Papi didn’t reach his full height until he was 21 or so.”

Forty minutes later, Thace was stepping onto his commuter shuttle, loaded down with a week’s worth of groceries, plus a dozen shortbreads and one still-warm gingerbread cake… and Lance was writing a shopping list to replenish the household cupboards. 

“You are so cute,” he said lightly, “just… burying the poor kid in food.”

“Being hungry sucks,” Keith said with a shrug, “and being hungry during a growth spurt is even worse.”

“It’s adorable how you fuss over them.”

“I’m not the one that loads them down with coats and hats and scarves all the time.”

“Only when they are going outside! We live on a spaceship! It’s climate controlled- they aren’t used to weather patterns!”

“You’re adorable with your fussing, too, then.”

Lance’s arm shot out, catching Keith around the waist and pulling him into his lap. “I’m always adorable,” he purred, a flirty smile on his face.

Keith’s expression softened, and he dropped an arm around Lance’s shoulders. “Yeah, you really are. It’s irritating.”

“But, you love me.”

“I do.”

“I love you, too, Keith… Thace was talking about him and Juanita wanted to make new traditions, just for themselves.”

“That’s sweet,” Keith smiled, “they are good together.”

“Mmmhmm,” he agreed, “but it made me think about a tradition we used to have… before we filled the place with kids who seem to be biologically unable to knock on a damn door…”

Keith’s grin turned smokey, “I think I know the one you mean…”

“The one about when work wrapped up early and we had unexpected alone time?”

“Yeah, that’s the one.”

“We should really bring that tradition back, shouldn’t we?”

“Definitely…” Keith hopped up, his fingers already on his shirt buttons, “race you to the bed, Sharpshooter!”


End file.
